The Splintering
by AmazinglyEarthBound
Summary: Sequel to The Unification! The main character (whose name I will not disclose until later) and his friend, Curly Brace, now travel through, and try to exit, the Labyrinth, but on the way, the first one I mentioned is learning that he wants to be more than friends with Curly Brace... Man, it is hard to not use his name yet.
1. Chapter 1

**[A/N] I've decided to spin this off into a small series, but it will not go through all of Cave Story, just the areas with Curly in them. That way, I can focus a bit more on the "romance" part of it. [End A/N]**

_So, without further ado…_

The Splintering

I am lost. I am horribly lost in this place. It seems like it would be a maze, so I decide to dub it the Labyrinth, but that will not help my situation. I need some way to open the door, and find Curly. Upon looking upwards, I find some platforms, with the annoying beasts known as Critters standing on them. I am able to dispatch them without any problem, and at the top, after almost getting squished by a couple of blocks, find a computer that opens the door. I fall back down, with my legs not hurt somehow, and enter the door to find…

… a ruined robot. It has been smashed into pieces. I feel a little sick, but then I keep reminding myself that at least it wasn't Curly. I disregard it and continue on.

These blocks, they seem to be controlled by some evil entity, likely the Doctor, for they keep trying to squish me against walls. I manage to weave through them and find myself in this place with cockroach-like things. They are not difficult to dispatch. I eventually come across a room full of those creatures, but they do not seem to be deadly. One of them has even set up a shop, and he tells me "This is the Labyrinth Shop. I'm Chaba. I would ask if you wanted to buy anything, but we were burgled not too long ago."

Then he spots my weapons and says "Oh! A Polar Star and a Fireball! Could I look at those for a second?"

Something inside me tells me to say no.

"Oh, OK. Well, if you change your mind, just come back."

The way he said that reminds me of Curly, and I desperately hope that she's alright.

Continuing on, the area seems to be more and more riddled with these cockroaches. I suddenly find myself in a large room full of them, and, finding a door, quickly duck into it.

Upon entering this hospital-like place, I see two small green people. One of them is a male with a lab coat and a hat, and one of them is a female, with just the hat. They are probably the doctor and nurse. Looking further, I see two beds, but one of them is occupied. Sitting on the bed, I see…

"Curly!"

**[A/N] So, what did you think? I might actually get the main character to talk in this again. As usual, R&R, etc, more chapters on the way. [End A/N]**


	2. Chapter 2

**[A/N] Wooooooooooot! Chapter 2! Man, it is about time I got this up. By the way, my birthday was on the 27****th****. Happy birthday to me! [End of A/N]**

My heart is leaping at the sight of Curly. She doesn't even seem to notice that I came in, but I immediately rush over and give her a hug.

"Oh, Curly, I am so happy to see you right now!" I say. "Is it really you? I thought that Misery…"

"Oh, no, she just teleported me here," says Curly, returning my hug. "I just hope the kids are all right."

"I'm not really in the best shape, though. I got hurt pretty badly when those cockroaches ambushed me," she says. "I don't think I'll be going anywhere anytime soon…"

"Don't worry, Curly, I will help you get back up in no time. Doctor," I ask the small green man. "Is there any way I can help Curly?"

"Well, two things," he says. "Number one, call me Dr. Gero, and number two, take this. It is a key to the clinic. There is something in there that can help her. We would have gotten it ourselves, but we heard there is a monster inside."

"Well, that won't be too hard. I can take on any monster!" I say, maybe a little too enthusiastically. "Don't worry, Curly, you will be up and running in no time."

"Thanks," says Curly.

I find the clinic soon enough, and see no monster. There is a small pill lying on the desk. This must be what Dr. Gero was talking about. I pick up the pill, but as soon as I drop in my pack, I hear a noise. I still can't see anything that would look like a monster, until I look up…

…and see what looks like a spectral Balrog racing toward me at high speeds. I quickly dodge out of the way. This monster is fast. It is very hard for me to hit it, but it keeps temporarily squishing me. I feel like I'm going to black out from the pain, but then I think of Curly, and how she's depending on me… that sweet, beautiful face is going to be the last thing I see…

Wait! No! I can't die, not right now, not when Curly is depending on me to get better. With new found strength, I push the monster off of me and start whaling on it with my sword. After a short time, it is gone, erupting into bubbles. I start to go part it, but then I remember how badly those bubbles hurt me, and wait for it to finish.

After it does, I quickly run back to the hospital. I give the pill to Dr. Gero, and in thanks, he heals my wounds.

"Thank you," she says. "I'm all better now, but I might have to stay in bed for a while."

"That's OK, just as long as you feel better," I say. "I'll go on ahead; you try to catch up when you feel like you can."

She gives me a thumbs up, and I continue on, happy that Curly is better now.

The cockroaches aren't all too hard to deal with now, but when I pass through, I see a huge robot shaped like an X. It looks sort of menacing, but it doesn't attack me, so I just continue, slaughtering cockroaches with my sword.

Suddenly, I hear a whirring sound, along with something turn on, and gears turning. I turn around and, lo and behold, the robot is coming for me.

**[A/N] Geez! It took me long enough! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. R&R, favourite, etc. [End A/N]**


	3. Chapter 3

**[A/N] Chapter 3! I need to just crank these out, cause I feel kinda guilty that I didn't get any chapters out in a few days. [End of A/N]**

The robot is very menacing. It is about to squish me with its treads, when I remember that I have to not die. I jump out of the way, and start throwing my sword at it.

I am surprised to see what looks like a ghostly King come out of the blade and slash away. The site is breathtaking… I somehow can't stop looking at it. It's like the spirit of King has the will to live on and help me defeat the Doctor.

It seems to look at me, for just a second, and I can see the look in his eyes, telling me to move forward, that he will take care of the monster. I pick up the blade, take one last look at King's ghost, and run into the next room.

The first thing I see when I go into the room is a huge crevice, when I see Professor Booster fall down the crevice. Something, something inside me, just like when Chaba asked if he could use the Polar Star and Fireball, it tells me to keep going, that Professor Booster will be fine. I notice a little red line on the ground.

Well, it must be there for a reason. I take a big run, and jump at the line.

I land on the other side with little effort, and go through the door.

There are two things in the room. The first is a huge boulder, and the other is…

"Curly? How did you get here so quickly?"

"Well," says Curly. "I guess you just didn't notice me while I was going through. I actually just got here myself. I think we need to lift this boulder to get out of here."

"Huzzah!"

A familiar voice comes down, and Balrog swoops in from the sky.

Before he can say anything, Curly interjects.

"Great! Now that you're here, we can lift up this boulder and get out of here."

Balrog starts to say something, but just agrees, and we start to lift the boulder.

I feel his mood change, and brace myself, before he yells…

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!"

He knocks Curly away, and blocks my way so I can't help her. I have no choice but to fight him.

Balrog seems to get new powers each time I fight him, because he can shoot missiles now! Luckily, I am a lot more nimble than he is, so I can dodge his, while letting loose with some missiles of my own.

It doesn't take long before he is defeated, and Curly wakes up.

"Alright, you beat me," says Balrog. "I'll help you move the boulder, but you can't tell anybody that I helped you."

"Sure!" says Curly. "Your secret is safe with us."

With out combined efforts, we all lift the boulder away. Balrog jumps away, while Curly and I enter this new area in the Labyrinth.

**[A/N] Thank you, thank you. Chapter 3 looks pretty good. I might finish this story soon, and start a new one! And by the way, this wasn't clear to someone, and so might not be to some other people, so I will say it now. This series is going through Cave Story, but only in the areas with Curly in them. That means the Sand Zone, which is done, the Labyrinth, the Waterway, both of which will be in this story, a bit of the Plantation, and the Bloody Sacred Grounds. Just to clear it up. [End of A/N]**


	4. Chapter 4

**[A/N] Man, I am having a hard time getting these up! Chapter 4, and with any luck, chapter 5 will be here soon. Our hero and Curly go through the Labyrinth M. [End of A/N]**

This Labyrinth just seems to get weirder and weirder. The things we fight… now the Doctor is sending FANS at us?! And they shoot fire?! Huh…

Curly is an invaluable ally, her machine gun just firing away. She seems to land a hit with almost every shot, and she has that air bubble that lets her breathe underwater! I wish I had one…

This area doesn't seem to be very tricky, and my blade and Curly's machine gun are making quick work of these enemies. I see the ghost of King back in the sword, and I realize that he must have done good work on the robot back in the main labyrinth.

After a while, we even find these things that look like small fuzzy spheres! Geez, the Doctor has a weird sense of humor.

Upon entering a door we found, there seems to be nothing in this room, except for a giant bear-like head statue-passage with bars, and a door.

"Well," says Curly. "I doubt whether we could fit through these bars. Let's just go through this door."

This new place seems to be very peaceful, and full of water. There is a small lift, a computer on a higher ledge, and a metal bar blocking the way. Jumping up to the computer, I can lower the bars, and allow us to continue on our way.

One of the doors won't open. We hem and haw about it for a while, and decide to shoot it. To my surprise, after a few shots, it goes all the way, but we are blocked by an even bigger door than before.

"Geez," says Curly. "It's just flood door after flood door… Maybe there's some way to open this one."

She looks cute when she's… well, anything. Wait! What am I thinking? I can save those thoughts for later, for now I must focus on the task at hand.

I go back and see, to my surprise, that the small lift has lowered.

Going down into the passage that it has opened, I find another computer. This one opens the huge door that was blocking our way.

Curly goes through the passage, and I quickly follow. I notice a small rope at the bottom of the room with a hook on either end, and pick it up, in case it will be useful. I also see a huge green, mossy-looking thing. I make a mental note of how silly it is, and try to remember to tell Curly about it later.

I notice her up at the top, looking at a robot.

"Look at this!" she says. "It looks like it was one of those robots sent from the surface."

"There are more of them down there, too. I wonder what did this. Not a Mimiga. Nothing like that could do this much damage. I wonder…"

Suddenly the robot comes to life. It spews out some words about how the current forces are insufficient, and explodes.

Curly falls over, but it seems to be more shock and surprise than anything.

It's at that moment I notice the giant mossy thing moving and coming toward us.

Just like the big robot that King defeated.

I now regret calling it silly.

**[A/N] I was trying to go for some comedy there. Did you get it? This story seems like it will be a bit longer than most of my other ones. But hey, more fun. R&R, the usual. [End of A/N]**


	5. Chapter 5

**[A/N] Geez! OK, chapter 5. Wish me luck to finish this, because it will take a long time, as I am on a bit of a writer's block. Although, I'm not doing too badly, huh? Slowly but surely. After this it's just gonna be two more stories in this arc. [End of A/N]**

This being is a very odd one. It has four smaller counterparts that do the main attacking, but every so often it will open up and we can shoot it. It has a lot of powerful shots, though.

It even has these giant balls of energy that could easily reduce us to metal scraps if we aren't careful.

Curly is flying around and destroying the opposition easily. However, we can't shoot at it all the time, because it closes itself a lot and it can blast us to the back of the room with some wind. It also floods the room a lot, and I come close to drowning quite a few times. I have never more wished to have Curly's air tank, or at least something like it.

After an extremely lengthy battle that is becoming very close to killing me, we have finally defeated it. I slump against the wall, exhausted. I keep trying to get up the courage to go over to Curly and just kiss her, but it doesn't seem to be the right moment. Maybe after we are out of danger…

I suddenly hear her scream "No! Look out!" I hear a loud noise and turn around. The thing seems to be using a last ditch attempt to defeat us.

It's firing a giant white ball of energy, enough to rip us apart.

And it's heading straight for me.

There is no way I can dodge it in time. I'm going to die. It is just occurring to me. I just didn't want it to happen like this.

Everything seems to happen in slow motion. The ball is heading for me. All I can see is a giant white light, and soon everything will be black and peaceful…

And I suddenly see a figure, a female figure, the same size as me, jumping in front of the ball.

"Curly! No! What are you doing?!"

"Well," Curly says with a meaningful look. "I know you would do the same for me. Goodbye…"

There is a magnificent explosion, and I can see nothing but brightness.

**[A/N] You guys all know how this is going to turn out. I'm sure at least some of you peeps have played this game before, and you oughta know that Curly… well, I don't want any spoilers in the author's notes for the people who haven't. Chapter seven will start the new area, and chapter six will be ridiculously short, because I want to increase the drama factor. Baibai! [End of A/N]**


	6. Chapter 6

**[A/N] Chapter six. I do not lie, usually. I might not lie much, but how hypocritical, eh? I mean, this is probably the longest chapter I have written for this story, or maybe any of them. Like I said, I want to increase the drama factor. You all know what will happen to Curly. But, I may surprise you… [End of A/N]**

Everything is gone.

Everything is still there, still moving, but nothing should be. It should be black and still and dark. There is no way Curly could have survived that blast.

I didn't even get to tell her that I think I love her…

I look at Curly's remains. It must be a trick of the light. I think I see her stirring… But no, she can't still be alive after that.

I walk over to her. I lean down and take her pulse, or at least what we can call one. We do have one, though. And I should know, I've checked.

She still has a pulse.

She's still alive.

She's still alive!

I am happy, happier than I have ever been in my whole life.

She is getting up.

She can't, though. She is too weak. She might not have died, but the blast was strong enough to render her almost immovable, and she may be dying right now.

I lean down, and help her sit up. I hug her, harder than I ever thought I could.

"You're alive." I say. "I can't believe it… Thank you. I probably couldn't have survived that, never in a million years. You just saved my life. You were willing to die, just to save my life."

"Well," she says weakly. "It's like I said. I know you would have done the same for me."

Suddenly, Misery teleports into the room. I would like nothing more than to fight her, but Curly needs me more.

"You…" says Curly. "You're that witch." She says it with a look and sound of pure loathing. "Those kids… My kids had better be OK!"

"Hmph!" says Misery. "Be silent! You're no mother."

Suddenly, someone else teleports into the room. A tall man in a lab coat who I recognize as none other than…

"The Doctor." I say, pretty much the same way as Curly did when she recognized Misery.

"That's the Doctor?" Curly asks. "The one who has been antagonizing the island lately?"

"Yes," I tell her. "Curly, allow me to give you a little tip. Never, ever, insult that man unless you have the guts to back it up, like I know you do."

"Thanks," Curly says. "It's weird, though; I always thought he would look a little more impressive than a weird guy in a lab coat."

"Why, you!" the Doctor shrieks. "Misery, bring the core back to the lab. I… will be along in a minute."

"Yes, my lord," Misery says with a smirk, and she and the core disappear.

"You say these things?" he says. "I will punish you for thinking such thoughts."

He waves his hand, and water slowly starts to fill up the room.

"I told you," I say. "Now we're going to drown…"

"Maybe not," says Curly. The water isn't rising very fast, but it is already touching the bottoms of our feet.

I look at her as she takes her air tank off of her neck.

"No," I say. "I won't let you do it again."

"You won't let me? OK, suit yourself…"

She pockets the air tank, but doesn't put it back on.

"You need to put it on. You deserve it a lot more than I do."

"Stop being chivalrous," she says.

I didn't realize how long we've been fighting; the water is up to our necks.

"Curly, it looks like we're both going to drown here," I say nervously. "So I have something to tell you."

"Ssshh," Curly says, putting a finger on my mouth. "I'm sure that this is really important to you, and probably to me, too, but we will both get out of this. Some how, some way, we will survive this. Whatever you want to tell me, you can tell me when we're out of this mess."

Those are the last words she says before the water rises over our heads. I try to hold my breath for as long as I can, and take a mental picture of that amazingly beautiful face. I can feel the air leaving my lungs.

My last breath comes up, and I black out.

**[A/N] Gasp! The story is already almost over! All I need to cover is the waterway, because that's short enough to become it's own chapter. Next time on the Splintering… wait a minute, you guys know already! [End of A/N]**


	7. Chapter 7

**[A/N] Chapter 7, baby! This oughta cover most of the waterway, with the last of it going in chapter 8. Almost… just two more stories. I can't believe how long this has taken. [End of A/N]**

I wake up.

That sends a jolt of surprise through me.

The second thing that I notice is that I can breathe.

I'm surrounded by water, yet I can breathe.

Like I have my own personal bubble…

Oh, no!

I scrabble at my neck, until I feel Curly's air tank on it.

The one thing I didn't see until then was that… Curly's body is lying at my feet.

No… not again… it seems that she's dead, and for real this time.

I let a little ray of hope shine into me, and I lean down and check her pulse.

I can feel it.

It is very faint, but I can feel her pulse.

She's still alive.

I can't believe this. Curly Brace, the ultimate survivor. I can't leave her here, or she _will_ die.

Suddenly, I remember the rope that I picked up. Curly is about the same weight as me, and she would be hard to carry. It's worth a shot…

I tie one end of the rope around Curly, and hook the hooks together around my front. She still feels a bit heavy, but lighter than before. I should be able to carry her to a safe place.

Suddenly, I notice the flood door closing. If I don't hurry, we'll be trapped here forever.

Moving is a lot harder than I thought. I barely make it under the door in time before it closes. I walk around in the area for a bit to get used to the extra weight, and soon I can move like I did before.

The bars covering the other door are gone. I go through, and find a calming sort of place full of water. The currents are common in this place, and I can find easy passages through the place.

I eventually come across a large room full of different currents and the jellyfish from Grasstown. For a moment, I wonder how they could have gotten the jellies over here, but then I remember that there are more pressing matters at hand.

I expertly weave my way through the currents and the jellyfish. I spy a small cabin up ahead. There may be a safe place inside, and I go in.

The room doesn't contain much, just a computer, a shelf with a notebook, and a bed. I lay Curly down on the bed and lay down next her. I wrap my around her and hug her like I'll never let go, before drifting off to sleep.

I wake up in the exact same position I fell asleep in, on one side of the bed with my arms around Curly. I go over to the computer, to see if there is anything useful.

I see the words on the screen…

"You know, I often recorded what I learned in that notebook…"

I walk over to the notebook, and skim through it until I find something helpful, about draining robots.

The book talks about the idea behind draining them, until I finally learn the process. It doesn't seem too difficult, and I go over to Curly to try it out.

I feel around her stomach until I find the plug that it talked about. I position her on the bed so that the water will flow onto it, and pull the plug.

The water slowly drains out of her. While it does, I feel on my own stomach, to see if I have a plug like that. It turns out I do.

I notice that Curly is almost done draining, because it slows down.

Suddenly, the water stops, and she starts to open her eyes.

She sits up on the bed. I rush over and hug her.

"Geez, what is with the hugs?" she says.

"Nothing," I say. "I'm just so happy to know that you're alive."

"Did you bring me here?" she asks. "Where are we?"

"Um, yes, and I don't know. Hopefully, on our way out of the Labyrinth."

"Well, I'll come with you," she says. Curly starts to get up, but sways and loses her balance.

"Hey, don't move. Save your strength," I say. "You don't have much of that left."

We start laughing, together, her a little weakly.

"We haven't really been able to laugh much, have we?" she says. "We've been at war here for a while."

"Yeah, things have been a bit frantic, what with you saving my life twice, and I saving yours once. I might need to do it again, just so we can call it even."

"So, how will we both get out of here?" she asks.

"The same way we got here," I say, and hold up the rope.

"You tied me to you to get me out of there?"

"Yeah. Just like this…"

I do what I did before, tying one end around here, and hooking the hooks against myself.

"Hm. Well, have a good time…" she says, before falling asleep.

I pick her up, and keep going through this place.

**[A/N] Just one more chapter, and then I'll be at the next story in this arc. [End of A/N]**


	8. Chapter 8

**[A/N] Finally! The last chapter! Not the end of the arc, though, I still have a couple more stories to do. But hey, this has been hanging over my head for so long now, I'm happy to finally get it done. Also, if it wasn't obvious before, now you will know why it is called "The Splintering." [End of A/N]**

Curly looks so peaceful when she is asleep. I feel like I could just stay here and look at her forever, but we need to leave this place.

I jump down the crevice when I leave the house, and weave my way through the currents and the spikes. I almost get skewered a couple of times, but I end up OK.

The currents are very tricky to maneuver, but at least there aren't any enemies. I make it to the end of the passage, and find myself in a wide open area full of rushing currents.

Suddenly, I hear someone yell "Something's coming!" It isn't Curly, or me. It seems to be some kind of disembodied voice. Before I can ponder on this, these odd fish covered in prickles come rushing toward me, along with a lot of blocks and a giant fish with a cyber helmet.

The creatures don't seem very powerful, and even the giant fish can't hurt me that much, it seems. It just periodically sends blasts of red energy towards me, and it isn't long before the fish has been defeated.

What I don't notice, though, is that the rope I'm using to hold Curly on to me is loosening with the currents.

When the big fish is defeated, I feel the hooks come undone, and Curly is drifting away from me…

I make a desperate grab for her end of the rope, and take it, but the knot comes undone, and she is floating away…

I can't swim fast enough, and she is gone…

I wake up in the Mimiga Reservoir, and find my pack a bit heavier. I reach inside and find a small medal in it with a squid on it.

It won't help me. I drop it back in my pack and go back into the village, and prepare to go all around the island, to get Curly back in my arms…

**[A/N] The Splintering has finally been finished! Now, AscendingAnthem and krikanalo, I have a contest for you. You only get one entry, so make it count. I can't decide what to name my next story, which will be about how the hero goes to the Plantation and finds Curly again. You should know how the game goes, so I would like you guys to choose what the name will be. Include it in your review for this chapter. Anyone else who wants to partake in it, can, but no one else has reviewed my stories, so it will be aimed you two awesome guys. One last thing; it has to be something about them reuniting. If you can come up with something better, though, I'm all ears.[End of A/N]**


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